The Life of a Necromancer as a Swashbuckler

Chapter 26: Falling Off the Cliff

This put Shi Taifeng in a difficult position. The Yechacha clearly had ulterior motives; while claiming it was the “Yijing Leopard Fetus Pill,” it might actually be poison—obviously a ploy to control the Iron Palm Sect. “This old man has been feeling unwell lately; it’s not the right time for me to take such a potent tonic. I’ll take it later,” Shi Taifeng offered as an excuse. “Sect Leader Shi, are you already dissatisfied with our Tianlong Sect so soon after forming an alliance? Are you afraid to even take a pill?” Yechacha’s expression immediately darkened. It seemed impossible to avoid this medicine; there was definitely something wrong with it, Shi Taifeng realized fully. “Since the Guardian has bestowed this medicine, how could I dare refuse? I’ll take it right away.” ” Shi Taifeng replied, opening the small box and taking out the pill inside. The pill was pink, looking vivid and tempting. Holding the pill in his hand, he casually picked up his wine cup, pretending to take a sip as if he were about to swallow it. Suddenly, his left hand jerked, sending the cup crashing to the ground, followed by a furious shout: “Attack!” He then hurled the pill in his right hand at the Yechacha and struck out with his palm, aiming straight for the Yechacha’s face. Yechacha was indeed formidable. Facing the incoming palm strike, he leaped backward and glided sideways, managing to evade Shi Taifeng’s strike even though it was just inches away. In the blink of an eye, he landed on the screen in the hall, completely unscathed. Yechacha’s reflexes were astonishingly quick, but the other Heavenly Demon followers weren’t nearly as agile. They had been drinking just moments before, but when the situation suddenly turned chaotic, disciples of the Iron Palm Sect attacked the Heavenly Demon followers standing nearby. Unable to react in time, one after another took a heavy blow to the face; a few were even killed on the spot. Realizing the situation was dire and that they had fallen into a trap, Yechacha and the Poison Sovereign immediately shouted, “Retreat!” The remaining Heavenly Demon troops, led by their two commanders, retreated en masse toward the hall’s exit. Yechacha took the lead, shooting forward like an arrow, with the Poison Sovereign close behind. Unfortunately, the moment the Poison Sovereign stepped out of the hall, he felt the wind from a palm strike approaching from above. It was too late to dodge; compounded by his unhealed severe injuries, his movements had slowed, so he could only barely extend his left arm to block. With a “smack,” the two palms collided, instantly sending the Poison Sovereign flying sideways onto the ground. His left arm snapped on impact, while the attacker was also sent reeling by the force of the blow, flying a great distance before slowly coming to a stop. It turned out to be Lei Ming, who had been waiting outside the hall all along. If even Yechacha and the Poison Sovereign fared this poorly, the rest of the Heavenly Demon faction stood no chance. As soon as they reached the hall’s entrance, they came under attack again, and one after another, they were wounded and fell to the ground. The once-numerous Heavenly Demon faction had lost nearly twenty men in the two ambushes; now, only Yechacha, the Poison Sovereign, and the two or three who had remained outside the hall from the start remained—a total of five or six people, completely surrounded by the Iron Palm Sect. Shi Taifeng was delighted this time. He strolled leisurely out of the hall. “Yechacha, why aren’t you seated inside the hall? Have you come out to admire the scenery? And why have your followers fallen asleep on their own? Are they that tired?” “Hmph, Shi Taifeng, you lot claim to be a renowned orthodox sect, yet you resort to such underhanded tactics to harm others. Aren’t you afraid the martial arts world will mock you if word gets out?” Yechacha rebuked Shi Taifeng angrily. “Ridiculed by the martial arts world? You lot stormed up to my Mogan Peak to threaten and slaughter my disciples—and you call that ‘above board’? Today, we’ll let your Demon Cult see just how formidable the Iron Palm Sect is. Dare to set foot on Mogan Peak again, and we’ll kill every single one of you—one by one, two by two! The Iron Palm Sect will never ally with the Demon Cult!” Lei Ming, standing nearby, shouted indignantly before anyone else could speak. “Hmph, you rabble! I’ll see which one of you dares to stand against this lady. Come at me with your lives!” Yechacha’s eyes were red with rage as she threw caution to the wind, suddenly appearing before an Iron Palm disciple and striking out with an Ice Palm. Before the blow could land, Shi Lu, standing nearby, noticed it and reached out to block it. The Iron Palm disciple was startled but emerged unscathed. Yechacha was extremely surprised that her strike had missed. Since she’d begun fighting, she’d rarely missed her mark, yet today she’d actually been a split second too slow. Only then did she realize her inner energy was in disarray—she’d been poisoned without even knowing it. Her power was steadily dissipating, and her whole body was going limp; she’d been struck by the Mi Su Powder. Turning her gaze to the others nearby, she saw that although the Mi Su Powder had no effect on the Poison Sovereign, his left arm was clearly severed. Combined with his unhealed old wounds, his combat effectiveness was certainly far reduced. Among her followers, those who had just entered the hall were all injured and lying on the ground, unable to fight any longer. and some had even perished. The two or three people still remaining by his side were those who hadn’t gone inside earlier and had stayed outside to guard Nameless. Just managing to retreat safely now would be no small feat—the situation was truly perilous. Wuming? Yechacha suddenly remembered Nameless, who was still being held captive nearby. After a moment’s thought, an idea struck him. He turned and grabbed Nameless by the throat. “Shi Taifeng, don’t come any closer. Dare to take another step, and I’ll make this disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect go down with you!” The Iron Palm Sect members hurriedly halted their advance, and Shi Taifeng’s expression grew grim. Nameless was still completely bewildered throughout the entire ordeal. He hadn’t even figured out what was going on when he saw Yechacha and the others go inside. He’d intended to find an opportunity to slip away, but Yechacha was very cautious and had left two or three people outside the door to guard him. This made him very uncomfortable, but he had no way to escape. Before long, he heard the sounds of battle erupting from inside. Yechacha was the first to burst out, followed closely by the Poison Sovereign, who was struck by a palm strike from Lei Ming. The rest of the Heavenly Demon Clan’s followers were then knocked down one after another. Nameless was just rejoicing over the success of his scheme when he was suddenly grabbed by Yechacha, leaving him deeply frustrated. Now the Yechacha was gripping Nameless’s neck fiercely, pressing herself tightly against him. Although it was extremely uncomfortable, with her soft breasts pressed firmly against his back, Nameless could only make the best of a bad situation. “Let go of Young Hero Nameless! He has nothing to do with this. If you have a problem, take it out on this old man!” Shi Taifeng was getting a little nervous; after all, repelling the enemy had been Nameless’s idea, and if anything were to happen to him, Shi Taifeng wouldn’t know how to explain it to Xiaoyaozi. “I’ll let him go—if you clear the path and let us head down the mountain!” The Yechacha was decisive; since things were bound to go badly today, it was better to get down the mountain safely and regroup. “All right, disciples, step aside.” Shi Taifeng had never intended to wipe out the Tianlong Sect entirely. If he actually killed Yechacha and the Poison Sovereign, the Tianlong Sect wouldn’t let the matter rest. A lesson would suffice—and with Nameless held hostage, he didn’t have many other options anyway. So the Iron Palm Sect disciples slowly broke up their encirclement, clearing a path down the mountain. “Hurry up!” Yechacha ordered. The remaining Heavenly Demon followers and the Poison Sovereign leaped off the cliff one after another; in a moment, they were out of sight, having retreated from Mogan Peak. Seeing that everyone had left, with only himself and the hostage Nameless remaining, Yechacha prepared to head down the mountain. But when he looked at Nameless in his arms—who appeared utterly at ease, as if still delighted by something—he was overcome with rage. If it weren’t for capturing this Nameless, so many of his followers wouldn’t have died. He couldn’t let him return so safely. Suddenly, he grabbed Nameless and hurled him down the mountain. Although Nameless was making the best of a bad situation at that moment, he remained on his guard. As soon as he saw the Yechacha about to hurl him down, he hurriedly ducked inward. In his panic, he grabbed the Yechacha’s breasts. Caught off guard, the Yechacha’s body went limp under Nameless’s grip, and she fell toward him, only to be embraced by Nameless instead. Thus, the two of them fell off the cliff, clinging to each other.